The controversial demolition of a 16th century listed building in North County Dublin has been revisited by the Flood Tribunal, which resumed public hearings today. Turvey House in Donabate was owned by the Murphy Group in 1987, when its demolition caused public outcry. Today the Tribunal has been hearing evidence from the Dublin County Council official who signed the demolition order. Tom Doherty has said that the then Assistant City and County Manager, George Redmond, had no involvement in his decision.
Mr Doherty told the tribunal this afternoon that he had had no discussion with George Redmond about the demolition of Turvey House. He said that he had acted on the advise of senior architects, who had advised that the building be demolished within three days because it was a danger to the public in its present condition. The Tribunal also heard that the Former Assistant City and County Manager, George Redmond, became embroiled in the controversy after local councillors submitted a Section Four motion compelling him to explain the demolition.
The former JMSE employee, James Gogarty, had alleged to the tribunal that George Redmond had received payments for, as he put it, "sticking his neck out for Turvey House". Mr Doherty said he felt that he had no reason to go George Redmond, who was his manager, before signing the order to demolish. He felt that he had sufficient grounds for proceeding.
The Tribunal also heard how George Redmond agreed to buy land from the developer Michael Bailey just days before he retired 1989. Mr Redmond's order was drawn up by Tom Doherty on the same day as Mr Bailey made the offer to sell the land. Mr Doherty agreed that the process was carried out with unusual speed, but he said that the reasons for this were Mr Redmond's imminent retirement and the fact that the council had been trying to acquire land for public use for some years.
The deal ran into difficulty later that year when Michael Bailey claimed he had struck a deal with George Redmond that a planning levy relating to another development in Blanchardstown would be dropped. Tom Doherty said that the council could find not evidence of any agreement and did not check with Mr Redmond, as he was 6 months into his retirement. However, he did agree to pay an extra £9,000 for the lands.
Earlier, the tribunal heard evidence from a British-based engineer who provided an alibi for Joseph Murphy junior on key dates in June 1989. Peter Mycroft said that he had a clear recollection of working with Mr Murphy Junior during a time when it was claimed by James Gogarty that Murphy Junior was involved in the payment to Ray Burke.
The Tribunal was set up over two years ago to look into claims by the retired building company executive James Gogarty that the then Minister for Foreign Affairs Ray Burke had accepted bribes. Since then, its remit has been widened to include other allegations of corruption around planning. However, the Tribunal is still hearing evidence related to the original claims.
There are around eight more witnesses to be heard. Their evidence is expected to last a fortnight. The chairman of the Tribunal, Mr Justice Flood, has said that after that, he will make a statement outlining the hearing's progress so far and mapping out how the long-running Tribunal will proceed.
